


The Meeting of The Cat-Burglars

by JellicleFicsForJellicleCats



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Enemies to Friends, F/M, First Meetings, Gen, Partners in Crime, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28575549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellicleFicsForJellicleCats/pseuds/JellicleFicsForJellicleCats
Summary: Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Wherever there's one, the other isn't far. Almost impossible to imagine Mungojerrie without Rumpleteazer, or vice versa. This is how it's always been, right? Wrong. These two troublemakers had to meet somehow. So let's look back to when they were kittens.(I don't headcannon them as siblings, this can be interpreted platonically or romantically, your choice)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	The Meeting of The Cat-Burglars

**Author's Note:**

> Kitten Jerrie and Teazer! This is the tale of how our little troublemakers met, from Rumpleteazer's perspective. Hope you enjoy!

Rumpleteazer had been in her new home for about a few days now, living with the stationmaster of her father's railway. She rather liked it, she supposed. It was comfortable, soft, warm, and there was always enough to eat. But there was a problem. She was alone. 

Of course Rumpleteazer was allowed out, (and even if she wasn't, she'd find a way out,) to visit her parents and friends, walk about, and all that jazz. But Rumpleteazer wanted a partner in crime. Back at the junkyard, she'd been able to play with Tumblebrutus, Plato, and Victoria, but now she was the only cat where she lived. This wouldn't do. 

The tabby cat let out a sigh. Well, she might as well get up to some mischeif by herself if she couldn't easily play with the other kittens anymore.

Out of the house and underneath the Jellicle Moon, Rumpleteazer began to stroll down the streets. Victoria Grove was a very wealthy area, so there was all kinds of trouble she'd be able to get into. Then she saw it. The perfect target. 

An elegant mansion sat at the end of the boulevard, and Rumpleteazer smiled to herself as she rubbed her front paws together. This house was a goldmine. It was even bigger than the one where she lived, and she knew there'd be some shiny things in there to add to her collection. Now, just for the heist. 

Rumpleteazer stalked the outside of the manor for a few minutes. Entrances, exits, emergency escapes, eggs, other things that started with e, they all ran through her mind. Yes, Rumpleteazer was a dumbass, but she could be incredibly smart about once a month, then her brain had to go back to not existing. 

Eventually she decided on an upstairs window. There was an easy tree to climb next to it, and she thought she saw something pretty in the window. Rumpleteazer scampered up the tree, leapt onto the roof, then looked inside the widow. Loose enough to nudge open. And Rumpleteazer did just that, nudge it open. 

The problem came, and the problem was not the window. The problem was the door. The door had opened the second Teazer had opened the window, and she readied herself to bolt, but no human steps came. No dog noises. In their place was... herself, apparently.

Rumpleteazer stared at the cat in the doorway. The cat stared back. The two simultaneously looked towards the mirror, then back at each other, back to the mirror, and finally each other. No, not herself, she decided. This was somebody else. This whole situation was an example of how Teazer's brain could be hyperanalytic one moment, then check out for a while. 

Teazer was pretty sure by now that this wasn't her. He was a tom, for one. He was also taller, a little older, though still a kitten like herself, and his coat had more black in it than hers. He was also scrappier, with messier fur and a leaner build. Probably an alley cat. But at first glance? The two were practically identical. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Finally, he spoke. 

"Who the fuck are you?" The tomcat asked. 

"No, who the fuck are you?"   
"Asked you first!"  
"Asked you second!" 

He stuck his tongue out at her. She did the same, sliding into the room fully now. Rumpleteazer approached him slowly and carefully, eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

"Oh, calm yer 'orses, I don't bite or nothin'," He shifted his weight and rolled his eyes. "Actually, that's a lie, I do bite, but only if ya gimme a reason to." He shrugged. 

"Fair enough." Rumpleteazer stuck out her paw, and he shook it. 

"Rumpleteazer."  
"Mungojerrie. Now beat it, I was here first, go find somewhere else." 

He gently shoved her. Not enough to hurt, not even meant to scare her or anything, really. Just a sort of 'get out of here' nudge. But Rumpleteazer never got out of anywhere. Especially if somebody else wanted her to. 

"I was 'ere first!" She insisted. "The window was open before you came through the door!" 

"I was in the house before you even showed up!"  
"Maybe so, but this room is still mine!"  
"Hell no, I got here first, I get the whole house!"   
"No, I get this room!" 

They argued back and forth for a while. A long while. Until eventually, she'd had it. Rumpleteazer swatted at him. She cuffed him around the ear, reaching up and standing on her toes, claws still retracted. 

Mungojerrie narrowed his eyes at her and growled. "Wanna try that again?" 

Rumpleteazer just glared right back and swatted him again. She definitely had a little bit of a temper. Unfortunately, he seemed to as well. Mungojerrie pounced on her, knocking them both to the ground, and soon they were in a full-out scuffle. Rumpleteazer felt a bite to her shoulder, and she swung back in retaliation. Claws cut her cheek, and she hissed, before biting his paw. 

They kept at this for a few minutes, a hissing and yowling ball of angry kittens. They rolled around like a tumbleweed in the desert, except much more hostile, and a lot louder. And also furry. Actually, it wasn't that much like a tumbleweed at all, except for the rolling part.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer weren't quitters. They fully intended to fuck each other up until one ran away. But that didn't happen. Instead, they were so busy with said fucking up of each other that they didn't notice the table. 

The bundle of angry fur crashed straight into the leg of a table. The table wasn't holding anything special, just a very expensive-looking, very fragile, and now very wobbly vase. Not too much longer, it became a very, very broken vase. 

It smashed to the floor, narrowly missing Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. At the sound of broken glass they sprung away from each other. 

"Look whatchoo' did!" Rumpleteazer said, shooting yet another glare in Mungojerrie's direction.  
"Look what I did? Look what YOU did!"   
"No, look what I did!"   
"What?"  
"What?"

Then it got worse. Not even a few seconds after the crash, loud, angry barking. And it seemed to be getting closer. Rumpleteazer's ears pricked up. "Shit. It's a Pollicle. We hafta' get outta 'ere." She hissed. Sure, this Mungojerrie asshole was annoying, rude, and stupid, but he was just a kitten like her. No way was she leaving him to get eaten by a dog.

"C'mon, 'elp me up 'ere!" Rumpleteazer said, reaching for the windowsill. 

Mungojerrie gave her a look of suspicion. "How do I know ya ain't just gonna take off and leave me?"  
"I ain't gonna leave ya, stupid, I ain't a sociopath. Now 'urry up! If you wanna live, 'elp m-" 

Rumpleteazer yelped as she was lifted into the air. She clawed at the marble windowsill, and pulled herself up, albeit with the help of a shove from Mungojerrie. Fear shot through her limbs as she heard the barking grow louder. She grabbed his paw and pulled him up and through the window. The two tabby kittens were out in the nick of time, barely avoiding the Pollicle who burst into the room a second after they'd escaped. 

Mungojerrie slammed the window shut. The barking was muffled. Rumpleteazer sprawled out on the roof, panting heavily, the adrenaline still racing through her veins. She hadn't had that narrow of an escape in a while. The rush felt good.

Rumpleteazer broke into a grin, then into laughter, giggling like an idiot despite their near-death experience. Mungojerrie raised a brow. 

"Whatchoo' laughin' about? We nearly died!" He said, but her mood had already started to infect him. Soon enough, two enemies were laughing together on a stranger's roof, out of breath and full of glorious stupidity. 

She finally pushed herself up. He did at the exact same time, which sent them both into another fit of giggles for no reason whatsoever. When they finally managed to sit up, he smiled at her. It was an incredibly stupid, almost cocky smile. She smiled back. 

"Alright, alright- I should prob'ly be gettin' home." Rumpleteazer wheezed. 

Mungojerrie nodded. "Alright, seeya. I've got a feelin' I'll see you again." He smiled at her once more, before disappearing into a tree. Rumpleteazer nodded to herself. 

This one. This one would be her partner in crime.


End file.
